The Cure for Anything is Salt Water
by 5829834
Summary: USMC nurse, Evelyn Russo, volunteers as a field medic attached to H/2/1 in their fight in the Pacific Theater.
1. Part I

**New Jersey, January, 1942.**

The wet snow splattered against the windows of the Russo family home where Evelyn and three of her brothers sat around the wireless in the living room. Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese a few weeks earlier but reports of the disaster were still coming in. The front door slammed with the wind as their mother, Martha and her youngest daughter, Penny came in from their morning shopping trip.

"Turn that damn radio off; you'll scare your grandmother." Martha demanded, hanging her coat on the back of a chair near the blazing fireplace so it could dry.

"Don't mind me, I'm napping." Irene, best known as Gran, wheezed from her fairly permanent spot on the sofa, eyes closed, her knitting resting in her lap.

Evelyn sighed and turned the volume down on the radio and followed her mother into the kitchen to help put groceries away. Her brothers huddled even closer around the now whispering device. Martha was emptying the brown paper bags and handing the contents to Penny, who piled them on the table.

"Evelyn, clear the table, will you." Martha said without turning around.

Evelyn pulled a face at her mother's back, which made Penny snicker, and grabbed the boxes of crackers off the table to bring to the pantry.

"Margaret and her boys will be over for dinner, but John is working this evening. It's a shame, too, because I planned to make his favorite." Martha said to no one in particular, taking her roasting pan out from underneath the sink.

Evelyn groaned inwardly and marched back to the table for more groceries. Not only would she have to deal with her older sister whom she'd never gotten along with, but she'd have to listen to her family praise her sister for having two perfect boys all night and she'd have to eat the sickly sweet ham her brother in law favored so much.

"Why is Margie coming over tonight? It's not Sunday." Penny asked, leaning against the ice box.

"Well, my dear, your big brothers are going away for a while, so we are having a party for them." Martha explained as gently as she could to the seven year old, tucking a stray curl behind the child's ear.

"You mean they're going to war." Penny stated.

Martha turned to glare at Evelyn. Evelyn rubbed a finger against a water ring left on the kitchen counter, avoiding her mother's eyes.

"Penny, why don't you go upstairs and play with Lucy," Martha suggested.

Penny nodded and skipped away up the stairs. When she had gone, Martha rounded on Evelyn.

"Why did you have to go and tell her there was a war on? Are you trying to terrify her?"

"She asked what was going on; why you have those stars hanging in the window and why the boys were talking about uniforms and Japs and Krauts, so I told her. She'd have found out anyways." Evelyn explained, looking her mother in the eyes this time, leaning against the opposite counter with her arms folded.

Martha huffed and turned to the cupboard, grabbing various spices. Seeing as how the conversation was over, Evelyn pushed off from the counter and left the kitchen.

"I have to go to work." She muttered as she passed her mother. Martha stayed silent.

Evelyn made her way up to the room she shared with Penny to change into her nursing uniform. Penny was sitting on her bed, with Lucy the cat, waiting for Evelyn.

"Did I get you in trouble?" She asked in a quiet voice once Evelyn had closed the door.

"No, you didn't. You know how she is; always has to be mad about something or other." Evelyn reassured her little sister, kissing her on top of the head as she walked to her own bed where her white uniform was laid out. "Did you put this out for me?"

Penny nodded.

"Thanks, doll." Evelyn changed quickly, throwing the green dress she had worn across her bed, and pinned her dark hair into a bun at the base of her skull. She grabbed her small nurse's hat and kissed Penny on the cheek before going back downstairs to put on her coat and scarf.

The walk from the Russo house to Saint Francis' Hospital was not a very long one, but the wet driving snow made it a bit difficult. Evelyn found herself slipping a few times on the icy sidewalk, and had to walk with her eyes squeezed nearly shut to keep the snowflakes from blinding her, but she managed to get to the hospital with five minutes before her shift officially started.

Evelyn's shift partner, Lena Manning, was waiting at the hospital entrance with a mug of coffee in each hand

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it." Lena said as Evelyn took the proffered coffee and warmed her hands around the mug.

"Nothing can keep me from you." Evelyn joked, and took a sip.

The two nurses walked briskly to the locker room where Evelyn hung up her sodden coat and quickly drank her coffee, before heading back to the front desk to pick up their patient charts.

"Mr Dunham's been asking for you, Evie." Viola, the receptionist said as Evelyn readjusted her hat.

"Well, I'll pop in during my rounds." She replied and headed off down the hall to check on her first patient.

Just after two, Evelyn met up with Lena and the two went down to the cafeteria for lunch; potato soup, buttered bread and more coffee. They sat together by a window and began to eat. Evelyn shivered as the warm soup filled her belly.

"That good, huh?" Lena snorted, lifting her spoon to her mouth.

"Nah, I'm just cold." Evelyn replied, rubbing her upper arms.

"We can move away from the window if you want." Lena said, moving to grab her tray.

"No it's fine; we'll be done soon anyways." Evelyn said, putting her hand out to stop Lena.

Lena settled back down and the pair began eating again.

"How's your mother?" Lena could barely stop herself from smirking.

"Awful as always." Evelyn said bitterly, dropping her spoon into her empty bowl. She grabbed her bread and began tearing off chunks, dipping them into her coffee before eating them.

Lena didn't bother trying to hide her laughter.

"Why don't you just tell that old bat off already? I'd pay good money to see you do that."

"What's the point? She'd just walk away as if I wasn't talking to her. She's got six other kids she likes much better than me, so it doesn't matter to her if one, especially me, don't like her back." Evelyn explained, taking two cigarettes from her pocket.

The murmuring in the cafeteria came to an abrupt hush as the head surgeon, Doctor Carrigan, entered, followed by five men, all in military uniforms. Doctor Carrigan cleared his throat, fiddled with his glasses and straightened his white coat before stepping forward to address the cafeteria.

"Ladies…and gents, this here is Major Hartley and he wants to talk to you about…something…" Carrigan stuttered before awkwardly shuffling to the side for Major Hartley to take his place.

"Ladies," Hartley began in a booming voice, causing many nurses to jump in their seats "as many of you may know, the United States is at war. The Marine Corps needs nurses to keep her fighting men fit and healthy to bring our great nation to victory. At this time, I would like to ask for volunteers."

The room was silent; the only sound coming from the kitchen in the back. Evelyn turned to look at Lena who was already grinning slyly at her. Evelyn nodded.

"Now don't all start at once!" Hartley said jokingly, though the vein in his forehead was visibly pulsing.

Evelyn and Lena slowly raised their hands.


	2. Part II

The snow had stopped falling by the time Evelyn's shift was over. She said her goodbyes to Lena and Viola and headed home. The roads were slippery after the wet snow, and the cold wind bit at Evelyn's ankles through her thick grey stockings.

The house was warm and a sweet smell was coming from the kitchen. Evelyn hung her coat and scarf on the peg by the door and made her way to the stairs. As she passed the living room, she saw the scene within: Gran was awake and knitting furiously on the sofa, Martha was beside her with the youngest Russo boy, Frank; they were winding balls of yarn. Evelyn's oldest brother, George junior and his heavily pregnant wife, Helen were sitting on the opposite sofa with Penny, reading a book and giggling. The two other brothers, Charlie and Edward were playing checkers at the side table by the bay window. Margaret and her sons, four year old Robert and baby James, had not yet arrived and George senior was away in his study. The whole room was bathed in the warm orange light from the fireplace. Evelyn stood leaning against the doorframe for a few minutes before Martha noticed she was there. For a moment Evelyn expected her mother to call her over to sit with her by the fire.

"Go and set the table, will you, Margaret should be here any minute."

Evelyn was only slightly surprised at her mother as she walked into the kitchen. She shook her head chuckling quietly to herself, remembering Lena's words of "tell that old bat off" as she took plates out of the hutch. As Evelyn set the plates around the table, Penny came in from the living room.

"Do you need some help, Evie?"

"Sure, why don't you come get the forks and I'll get the knives." Evelyn said, leading Penny back to the dish hutch for utensils.

Just as they finished setting the table, the front door opened and muffled shouting could be heard throughout the house.

"Margaret's here." Penny stated.

Evelyn groaned and made her way out of the dining room. George was already being tackled by Robert and Martha had baby James in her arms, cooing about how she'd never seen such a perfect baby. Before anyone could see her, Evelyn slipped upstairs to change out of her uniform and still wet stockings. She put on the slippers Gran had made her the Christmas before and marched back downstairs. The family had gone back to the living room, although they were joined now by George senior who was having his wiry grey moustache yanked by James.

"Dinner's ready now, why don't we all sit down and eat." Martha said loudly, clapping her hands.

The Russo family filed noisily into the dining room; leaving Evelyn to help Gran walk slowly behind them.

"You're such a nice girl." Gran commented, pinching Evelyn's cheek as she helped her to her seat at the end of the table.

Once Evie was seated, George senior began grace.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from your bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen"

Amen's were scattered around the table as everyone crossed themselves and grabbed at their napkins. There was a clamour of noise as everyone served themselves and each other, passing salt, pepper and butter as asked around the table. After a few moments, quiet settled as everyone began to eat, the only noise coming from cutlery against plates and glasses chinking against the table. Penny nudged Evelyn's foot under the table and the two winked at each other, like they always did. Robert stuck a string bean in his nose.

Only when dinner was close to being finished did conversation really pick up again. George senior turned to his oldest son.

"So, Georgie, when does your train leave?" He asked, wiping his moustache with his napkin.

"Not until 15 hundred." Georgie replied, pushing his empty plate forward.

"I'll drive you and Helen to the train station. Too bad you couldn't all leave at the same time, save your old man a trip or two." George senior said, clapping his hand on the back of Edward's neck. "This one's leaving at six in the morning, and we get Charlie for another couple of days."

"Far be it from me to tell the Army how to do their job." Charlie replied, still shoveling potatoes into his mouth.

"Yeah coming from a Private they might not take that very well." Georgie scoffed at his younger brother.

Charlie threw a chunk of dinner roll at George junior, who picked it up and ate it, grinning.

"After you boys go, we'll only have these girls to keep us company." George senior said jokingly.

"Hey! I'm not a girl!" Frank piped up from beside Charlie.

Everyone laughed at Frank, except Evelyn and Gran, the elder having dozed off again.

"Eve, why don't you get out of that hospital. Go work at the munitions factory with Margaret and do some good?" Edward suggested as Martha and Margaret began clearing plates.

Evelyn tapped her heel on the leg of her chair, a nervous habit.

"I can't," she said as Martha took her plate away.

"Oh? Why's that? Did they get rid of Carrigan and make you head surgeon?" Edward teased.

Evelyn took a deep breath.

"I joined the Marines." She stated.

There was a crash from the kitchen, utensils scattered across the floor and Martha marched back into the dining room.

"You did what?" She asked evenly, one hand on her hip, the other on the back of her husband's chair. She didn't shout, and that's how Evelyn knew the situation was serious.

All eyes were on Evelyn waiting for her to reply. Even Gran had woken up again. Eve opened her mouth to speak.

"No I heard you. My question is why would you go and do that?" Martha asked, putting her hand up to stop Evelyn.

"A Major came in and asked for volunteers; said we'd be doing a great service to our country in this time of war." Evelyn began her argument.

"And if this Major told you to jump off a bridge, would you? Martha spat.

"She probably would," Margaret added, sitting back down in her chair. Evelyn's cheeks flushed. "Oh look, now she's going to cry."

"Look, I joined up to do something good. The Marines are opening a hospital in Australia and they need nurses to staff it. I volunteered along with Lena and a handful of other girls who want to be useful, not just sitting at home waiting for their sweethearts to come home." Evelyn managed to get out around the angry lump forming in her throat.

"Don't the Australians have nurses to staff this hospital?" Edward asked, still eating.

"Working in the munitions factory is just as much a help, and it's a hell of a lot safer too." Georgie added softly, trying to ease tensions around the table.

"How is handling explosives safer than staying in a guarded hospital?" Evelyn asked, leaning forward on her arm.

"Well for one thing you would be at home." Martha said, hands on hips again.

"Yes, where I am so welcome and loved." Evelyn said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

The dining room was silent. Penny pushed her chair back and ran up to her room.

"Now look what you've done." Margaret got up and threw her napkin on the table before following Penny up the stairs.

"If you think you can just leave while the rest of us are working for this family, you can forget about ever coming home." Martha declared.

She stormed back into the kitchen wondering under her breath how she was cursed with a child so spiteful with her husband right behind her. Helen escorted Robert out of the dining room and George followed her with James. One by one the remaining members of the Russo family left Evelyn sitting at the dining room table.

"You're such a nice girl." Gran spoke up, still sitting at the head of the table. Her cloudy green eyes were filled with tears, but she had a sweet, understanding smile upon her lips.

Evelyn only nodded, afraid that she really would cry now if she opened her mouth again. She sat with Gran at the kitchen table in silence for a long time. The sounds of Martha furiously cleaning in the kitchen and the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall were the only sounds in the house.

It was after nine when George and Helen left, coming in to say goodbye to Gran. Helen gave Eve an apologetic smile and a small wave before George escorted her outside to his Ford in the driveway. Gran then slowly pushed herself up from her chair and slowly limped back to her spot by the fire, which was still roaring thanks to the occasional prods from George senior, who now sat in his armchair with his pipe in his mouth. Evelyn sat alone for a few moments more before making her way up to the room she shared with Penny.

Margaret was sitting on the edge of Penny's bed, stroking the child's hair. Penny was asleep, but still hiccupping from crying, her face still splotchy. When Evelyn got to the doorway Margaret jumped to her feet.

"You've got some nerve, you know." She hissed, her eyes following Evelyn's every move as she walked into the room. "How dare you do that to Ma; to Penny!"

Evelyn sighed as she reached her bed and turned to face her older sister.

"You know what, Margaret? Fuck you."

Margaret gasped, but thankfully couldn't reply as their father came into the room just then, carrying a sleeping Robert in his arms.

"Margie, John's here. It's time to take your boys home." He said, handing the sleeping toddler over to his mother.

Margaret left the room, but not before glaring at Evelyn one last time.

Oh if looks could kill, Evie thought.

George senior came into Evelyn and Penny's room, closing the door behind him. He seemed to struggle for a moment or two before he moved closer to Evelyn, so as not to wake Penny.

"Why, Evie?" He whispered, the look in his eyes a mixture of sadness and hurt; his green eyes, the same as his mothers, the same as Evelyn's.

"I told you why downstairs." Evelyn said quietly, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"No, not why did you sign up. Why didn't you come and talk to your mother and I about it first?"

"Because I knew you'd say no." Evelyn replied.

"Of course we would!" George said a little louder than he meant to. Penny rolled over, but stayed asleep. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to you, that's all. Don't tell the others, but you're my favorite." He added in a whisper Evelyn could barely hear.

She offered her father a small smile.

"I won't," She said "and I won't get hurt. It's not like I'm going to be traipsing around the jungle with a rifle."

"Well, it's a small comfort, but I'll take it. When do you leave and where are you going?"

"I'll have to leave early to go to New York in the morning. Church Street. From there Parris Island for training then off to Australia, I suppose." Eve replied.

"Your mother won't let me take you to the station, so take this instead," George reached into his trouser pocket and took out twenty dollars. Evelyn stared at him wide eyed. "It'll get you a ticket on the commuter line to New York, and you'll have plenty left over for whatever else you'll need."

George pressed the money into Evelyn's hand, and held it for a moment.

"I got you this, too," George whispered suddenly as if only remembering, and brought out a small parcel from his cardigan pocket.

Evelyn took the package and opened it. Inside was a medallion of a saint on a long silver chain.

"She's Saint Catherine of Siena, patron saint of nurses. I was going to save it for your birthday, but you'll be away then. I pray that God keep you safe and bring you back home quickly," he said, eyes beginning to fill with tears. He quickly kissed her on the cheek, the wiry grey bristles of his moustache scratching Evelyn's skin, and swiftly went to the door. "You'll want to leave before seven, that's when your mother wakes up."

"Thank you, Dad."

George nodded and left the room, closing to door behind him.

Evelyn wiped at her suddenly damp eyes and shook her head. Now was not the time for tears. She stood up from her bed and went to her closet. As quietly as possible, she retrieved her small suitcase from the back and filled it with what she thought was necessary. She didn't bring much for clothes, realizing the Marines would outfit her with everything she could possibly need. She did, however, pack the slippers Gran had made her, along with her lipstick and hair pins. Eve thought it best to wear her nurse's uniform into town, so she laid it out on the little chair in the corner of the room. It only took her a few minutes to pack up. When she was done, Evelyn changed into her nightdress and grabbed Lucy the cat from the windowsill and slipped into bed with Penny, who snuggled into Evelyn's side in her sleep.


	3. Part III

Evelyn barely slept that night. Between Penny's tossing and turning and Evelyn's own thoughts, there wasn't much rest to be had. By the dim light from the full moon coming through the window, Evelyn checked her watch for the umpteenth time. It was half past five. Slowly Evelyn got out of bed, careful not to jostle Penny. She quickly changed into her uniform, folding her nightdress and putting it into her suitcase. Once she decided she was ready, Evelyn jotted down a note for Penny, telling her little sister that she loved her and that she'd write as soon as she could so they could stay in contact while she was away.

As slowly and silently as she could, Evelyn snuck out of her room, careful not to step on Lucy, and tip toed down the stairs. She grabbed a bread roll from last night's dinner and put it in her coat pocket. Giving one last look around her childhood home, Evelyn left her key on the dining room table and left. There was a familiar car parked across the street from the house. A man stepped out as Evelyn made her way to the icy sidewalk.

"Hey, doll face, you need a ride?"

Evelyn smiled and crossed the street.

"Thomas, what are you doing here?" She asked when she approached him.

"Your father called me last night, asked me to drive you and a Miss Lena Manning to the train station this morning. He didn't say why though." Evelyn's sweetheart, Thomas Harkins, explained and leant in to kiss Evelyn on the cheek.

"Well I promise I will explain everything to you on the way." Eve said as Thomas put her suitcase in the trunk.

He held the passenger door open while Evelyn climbed in, thankful to not have to walk in the frigid air.

On the short drive over to Lena's house, Evelyn told her story to Thomas, who stayed silent and kept his eyes forward. He was still silent when they had pulled up out front of Lena's home and parked the car.

"I'll just run in and get her," Evelyn said and got out.

As she reached her hand up to knock on the front door, it swung open to reveal a teary eyed Lena, also dressed in her uniform, and her teary eyed parents.

"Oh, Evelyn! You sweet, sweet girl!" Mrs Manning exclaimed, throwing her arms around Evelyn's neck, pulling her in to a bone crushing hug. "You girls promise me you'll look out for one another, and write me always, and please stay out of trouble."

Evelyn was released and gasped for air.

"We promise, Ma. We'll be just fine." Lena said, putting her arm around Evelyn's shoulders.

"Evie, tell your boyfriend we really appreciate him givin' our Lena a ride. And thank you for volunteering to go with her. If anyone can keep her in line, I know it's you." Lena's father said, shaking Evelyn's hand.

"It's no trouble, Mr Manning." Evelyn replied with a smile.

Mr and Mrs Manning stood on the front porch and watched as the girls walked back down to Tommy's car. He got out and put Lena's suitcase into the trunk with Eveie's and, again, held the door open for the girls to climb in, and then they were off.

The car was silent for a few minutes before Thomas spoke up.

"Evie, you know I love you, but I can see where Martha's coming from." He began. Lena made a shocked sound from the back seat, but Eve gave her a look, and she stayed quiet. "You're the only one who does anything in that house. Margaret's moved out, Penny's too young, Gran is too old, and your mother thinks she's too privileged to have to do any house work or upkeep. I swear to God, if it weren't for you always picking up after everyone, that house would be a disaster. However, I understand why you want to go. Yes it's to do your duty as a proud American citizen, and hell, I'd be right there with you if I could, but somewhere in your head you've gotta know that you're leaving because you know you're not your mother's daughter; you're her maid."

The car was silent again.

"Christ, Tommy, that was beautiful. Evie, can I borrow a hankie?" Lena said, voice thick with tears from the back.

Evelyn unrolled her bread from her handkerchief and handed it to Lena, putting the bread back into her pocket.

"Thanks, Tom." She said quietly, reaching across the seat to hold his hand, while Lena dabbed her eyes.

When they got to the train station, Thomas unloaded their suitcases from the car.

"Write me when you can. Promise." He said to Evelyn, holding her hands in his.

Lena had gone off to buy the train tickets, giving the couple some privacy.

"I will." Eve replied, and Thomas pulled her into a deep kiss.

A group of passersby whistled at the sight.

When they pulled away from each other, Lena came up brandishing the tickets.

"Alright, the next train to New York leaves in fifteen minutes and we are on it. Thank you so much for the ride, Tommy, I'll take her from here." She said, linking her arms with Evelyn's and guiding her to the gate.

"That was some kiss, huh?" Lena teased once the girls were settled on the train, poking Evelyn's leg with the toe of her shoe.

"Oh stop," Evelyn said, swatting her friend's foot away. "Who knows when we'll see each other again, he had to make it a good one."

Lena looked pleased with Evelyn's smug answer.

"Oh I wish I could have a love like yours." She said, closing her eyes and leaning back in her seat. "We'll have to take the ferry across the Hudson when we get there, then it should be a quick walk to Church Street." Lena continued with her eyes closed.

Evelyn nodded and leaned back in her seat as well, choosing to look at the frozen landscape whipping by instead of catching up on her much needed sleep. Her nerves wouldn't let her sleep, even if she had wanted to. When Lena's soft breathing indicated she had dozed off, Evelyn took the dinner roll from her pocket, picked off a bit of lint, and ate it. The bread sat like a rock in her belly for the duration of the ride, but butterflies began fluttering in her stomach when the conductor called their stop.

"Lena, wake up, we gotta go." Evelyn said, reaching over to shake Lena awake, before standing up.

"Huh? I'm up." Lena mumbled and stretched. She looked around seeming to have forgotten where she was. "I thought I was dreaming"

Evelyn smiled and passed Lena her suitcase from the overhead.

When the train came to a full stop, the girls filed off along with the other passengers. The conductor tipped his hat to them as they passed and a platform guard helped them maneuver onto the platform.

"Hey, maybe one of them can be my Tommy." Lena said, throwing a kiss to the guard, who winked back.

Evelyn roller her eyes and linked her arm with Lena's.

"Let's just go find this ferry." She said, dragging Lena beside her.

* * *

Hello everyone and thanks so much for reading. Just a question though, should these chapters be longer? You can let me know in a review or find my tumblr through my profile. Thanks again!


	4. Part IV

After the short ferry ride and brisk walk, Evelyn and Lena went through the bronze revolving door at Ninety, Church Street, and made their way up to the third floor. Standing in the hallway was an array of people, mostly young men, but there were a few women, too, some had crisp, white nurse's uniforms peeking out from the navy and gray of winter coats.

"I guess this is the place." Lena said, leaning against the wall.

"I guess so." Evelyn replied, casting a glance at all the faces around her.

They waited for a few minutes, more men coming in from outside, shaking snow from their shoulders and hats, before a uniformed man opened the door and the group filed into the room silently. The room was small, usually used for business meetings. There were no chairs, only a podium and the American flag at one end. The uniformed man stood at the podium and took a piece of paper from his breast pocket, laying it flat before him. He adjusted his glasses on the tip of his nose.

"Good morning. We'll get through this quickly so please quiet down." The man spoke with a gruff voice that reminded Evelyn of her grandfather who used to used to recite _A Visit from Saint Nicholas_ every Christmas Eve until he passed.

"Now would you all raise your right hands and repeat after me," There was a rustle of coat sleeves as all those in the room raised their hands. "I, state your name…"

Through the murmur of names, Evelyn was able to pick out a few: Manning, Leckie, Henderson, Boyle.

"I, Evelyn Russo, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

"Congratulations." The man said simply, tucking his paper back into his pocket before sweeping out of the room, leaving everyone behind in a slightly confused daze.

"So I guess we're real Marines now." Lena said excitedly from beside Evelyn as they sat together in a crowded train car headed to Washington.

"I guess so." Evelyn replied, looking around the car.

There were about thirty or forty other people crammed into the little wooden train car. A couple were familiar to Evelyn; one had been a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, she knew that from Edward's baseball card collection, and Eve could not quite place where she knew the other one from, she just knew she'd seen him before. The few other nurses who had been sworn in that morning were sitting together on the seats across from Evelyn and Lena and on the seats adjacent. The boys were singing and laughing and talking loudly, joking about the old wooden train car, while the ladies gossiped quietly, a couple working on their knitting.

"Hey, it says here this train is property of the Philadelphia Museum of American History!" Someone shouted. The boys all howled with laughter. Evelyn snorted and caught a glare from Judith, who had worked at Saint Francis' with Evelyn and Lena and who had stood right behind them in the swearing in.

Evelyn stopped smiling and turned her head to look out the window. Lena leaned her head on her shoulder, reaching in to Evelyn's coat pocket for her pack of cigarettes. The nurses passed them amongst themselves and smoked in general silence. A few would have quiet conversation amongst themselves, but never did they have a group conversation.

"To be honest, I thought Tommy was going to propose to you at the station this morning." Lena said quietly, head still resting on Evelyn's shoulder.

"To be honest so did I." Evelyn replied, taking a long drag at her cigarette.

"When we get back, you should ask him." Lena said.

"Ask him what? Why he didn't?"

"No! Ask him to marry you!"

Evelyn scoffed. So did Judith.

"I'm sure that'll go swell with him. First his woman goes off to war while he's stuck at home with his asthma, and now here she is on bended knee asking for his hand in marriage. Hell, maybe I can take over his job at his father's factory while I'm at it."

"Whatever makes you two happy. He seems pretty understanding." Lena blew smoke at the ceiling before changing the subject. "Why didn't you call me last night when you fought with the old bat?"

"What like in the middle of it? Ma, hang on, let me just get Lena over here and I'll get right back to having words with you. You didn't miss much."

"Did she really tell you to never come back?"

Eve nodded, stubbing out her cigarette butt on her thumbnail.

"Well, my Ma will be happy to have ya! She'll treat you like a princess! And I'm sure she won't say no if you wanted to bring Penny with you. After four boys, it'll be nice having a gaggle of girls around, and I've always wanted sisters, not like your other sister, but Penny's an angel." Lena said, sitting up straight and clapping Evelyn on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Lena. Really."

During the train ride from Washington to South Carolina, discomfort settled in. In the cramped car, there was little room to move about. A few of the boys stretched out on the floor of the train to sleep, but most of them stayed up to continue to talk and sing. Most of the songs were old Irish folk songs Evelyn had never heard of, save for a couple Mr Dunham used to croak out to her when she would visit him on her rounds at the hospital.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in that creaking, drafty old train car, the train came to its final stop. Everyone hurried off the train to the trucks that were waiting to take them to the base where they were deposited in front of the mess hall and addressed by the drill instructor.

"Boys, I want to tell ya'll something. Give your hearts to Jesus, boys – 'cause your ass belongs to me!" Sergeant Bellow, as the boys would later nickname him, bellowed in a thick southern drawl before leading the herd of new recruits into the mess hall for a meal of cold bologna and lima beans.

After their disappointing breakfast, the new training group was marched down to an administrative building as Sergeant Bellow called out commands in that booming voice.

"I cannot understand a word he's saying." Lena whispered through gritted teeth beside Evelyn.

"Me neither," Evelyn whispered back. "Just do what the boys are doing."

Major Hartley was waiting outside the administrative building. He and Sergeant Bellow saluted each other before having a quick whispered conversation.

"Alright, ladies, if you could follow me please." Major Hartley said gently and led the nurses into the administrative building.

Sergeant Bellow led the boys in right behind, with much more shouting, but took them down a different hallway. Once inside the building, Major Hartley stopped the nurses outside a doorway.

"Inside this room you will surrender your personal affects and be given your new uniforms." He explained. "Please line up against the wall and wait for your name to be called."

One by one the nurses went into the room. Evelyn and Lena chatted quietly while they slowly moved up the line with each name called. Their talk was interrupted, however, when a scream erupted from inside the room and Judith came barging back out, tugging her coat back on. She glared at Major Hartley and stormed out of the building.

"Alright, Miss Manning, you're up next I guess." He said, scribbling on his clip board.

Evelyn squeezed Lena's hand and offered a small smile as her friend entered the room. Fifteen minutes later, it was Evelyn's turn. She walked into a room where a large nurse sat at a desk.

"Strip." The nurse said absently, looking at a file on her desk.

"E-excuse me?" Evelyn stuttered, unconsciously pulling her coat tighter around her.

"I said strip. You can keep your civvy skivvies for now, but I gotta give you a check up and measure you for your uniform." The nurse explained.

Evelyn nodded, more to herself since the nurse had gone back to her file, and stripped. She stood shivering as the nurse came and checked her reflexes, looked in her ears and throat, listened to her heart, took her pulse before taking her measurements all in complete silence. After rummaging through numerous footlockers behind the desk, the nurse placed a seemingly endless pile of clothes on the desk.

"Wear these now." The nurse instructed, handing a few items to Evelyn.

Eve dressed quickly in her new green trousers and white tee shirt, shrugging on the one size too big green jacket with USMC printed over the left breast pocket. After tucking in her shirt and doing up her belt, Evelyn reached for her socks and boots.

"Um, do I tuck the trousers into the boots?" Evelyn asked quietly from the floor.

"What are ya, a paratrooper?" The nurse scoffed. "No you do not blouse your trousers, or as you said, tuck 'em into your boots. Here, these are puttees, if ya'd rather not have your trouser legs flappin' in the wind." The nurse picked out an item from Evelyn's pile and showed her how to lace them up.

When Evelyn was done lacing up the puttees, she stood up and brushed herself off. The nurse looked at her and nodded in approval.

"Welcome to the Marine Corps. You are now Number 5829834. Remember that number. Go through that door over there and see the barber." The nurse closed up Evelyn's file and placed it on top of Evelyn's suitcase, where she hurriedly tucked her old uniform, stockings and shoes.

Somewhat shocked, Evelyn packed up all her new belongings, stuffing them into the bag provided, and walked through the doors at the opposite end of the room from where she had entered. As Evelyn made her way to the barber, she heard calls of "you'll be sorry!" directed to the stream of men coming out the building a little ways behind her. Outside the barber Lena was waiting for Evelyn. She hugged her briefly, her now short black hair blowing in the slight breeze.

"Your hair has to stay above your shirt collar at all times," Lena explained, touching the blunt ends of her hair. "I figured it would just be easier to hack it all off than worry about pinning and tying and what not. It's only hair. It grows back."

It seemed to Evelyn that Lena was trying to convince herself all was well. She squeezed Lena's hand and entered the barber's shop.

"Do you want to chop it or not?" The old barber asked as Evelyn stepped inside, her new boots thudding on the wooden floor.

The other nurses who had kept their long hair were all in a corner around a mirror, fiddling with snoods and fussing over chignons.

"Chop it." She said sitting in the chair.

The barber grinned and brushed all of Evelyn's wavy brown hair into one bundle. With just a few snips from his scissors, the hair fell onto the floor.

"You don't want to keep any of it, do you?" the barber asked, slightly worried that Evelyn would say yes.

Evelyn shook her head no.

"Good."

The barber quickly finished up with Evelyn as the men began filing into his shop.

"I'll be with you shortly," he said, brushing hair clippings off the back of Evelyn's neck. "A couple swipes with this, and they're on their ways." He gestured to an electric clipper on his table.

Evelyn smiled and hopped down from the chair. Major Hartley was waiting outside with Lena and the rest of the nurses, twelve in total, counting Evelyn, but still a few short of whom all had arrived earlier that day, and definitely no sign of Judith. Throughout the day, the group of a hundred men who had been on the train, dwindled down to only sixty. The rumor going around was that not one man from the state of New York lasted the day.

"If you ladies will follow me, I'll take you to your barracks now."

On the march over to living quarters, Major Hartley explained the schedule.

"Over the next six weeks, you will learn marching, have lectures on military courtesy and jargon, special medical training and drilling with weapons in case of dire emergencies."

This brought them to their barracks. The building was not overly large and had single cots, already made, and foot lockers lining the walls. On each bed was the respective suitcase of each nurse.

"You ladies are expected to keep this building neat and clean. Your personal effects have been returned to you, along with your dog tags. Welcome to the Marine Corps, ladies. Semper Fi."

* * *

_Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know that I have a TON of rewriting and editing to do so this is likely to be the last update of the year. I had this one written a while ago, but I'll try to make the newer chapters a bit longer. Also if you ever want to chat, head on over to my tumblr (link is in my profile) and we can definitely do that! Okay, thanks for reading, enjoy the rest of your day!_


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